Robert Barr (writer, born 1909)
Robert Barr | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 December 1909 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 30 January 1999 (aged 89) |
| Occupations | Journalist, war correspondent, writer |
Robert Barr (22 December 1909 – 30 January 1999) was a Scottish journalist, BBC war correspondent and writer.[1][2][3]
Biography
Barr was born 22 December 1909 in Glasgow.[3] He started training as a chemist when he left school at 15, but not long after he swapped to journalism with a job as a court reporter.[4] He married Janet Connell in 1936 with whom he had one daughter.[3]
Career
After his start at the Glasgow Bulletin as court reporter he moved onto being the editor of the Kilmarnock Herald when just 19.[4] After a brief change in career working for Charles B. Cochran he returned to reporting with the Daily Mirror.[4]
Barr was a writer for the Daily Mail before the outbreak of World War II when he started work as a war correspondent including working closely with Richard Dimbleby.[4] He went to the Ardennes in December 1944 to do a story on troops preparing for Christmas.[5] Expecting a quiet environment he found himself in the middle of the Battle of the Bulge during his thirty days on the story.[5] Barr was one of four people chosen to follow Dwight D. Eisenhower reporting the war from the point of the allied commander from D-Day until the end of the war.[4]
After the war Barr moved into writing for television when the BBC resumed broadcasting in 1946.[6] His work included Germany under Control the first BBC documentary.[4] He moved to Reading, Berkshire with his wife in 1949, to be closer to London that served as a better base for his television and radio writing.[7] He wrote many documentaries as well as for TV shows such as Spycatcher, Z Cars and Softly Softly.[8]
He won the Prix Italia television award for his documentary on medical services at sea provided by the Post Office called Medico.[4]
Barr returned to the Ardennes in 1959 to contrast his war time visit in winter with a summer in the woods, and the piece on the contrast was released on the BBC as "After the Battle".[5]
He wrote the script for the 1980 film Airey Neave: A Will of Steel about British politician and war hero Airey Neave.[9]
Barr published several books including The Scotland Yard Story, The Dark Island and The Edge of the Forest.[4]
After living in the Reading area for thirty years he moved back to his family home on the Isle of Bute off the west coast of Scotland.[7]
Works
- Germany Under Control (1946)[8]
- Report on Germany (1948)[8]
- H.G. Wells The Time Machine (BBC, 1949)[8]
- The Blockade Ends (BBC, 1949)[8]
- Medical Officer of Health (BBC, 1954)[8]
- Flying Ambulance (BBC, 1958)[8]
- Medico (BBC, 1959)[8]
- Spycatcher (BBC, 1959-61)[8]
- Moonstrike (BBC, 1963)[8]
- Spy Trap (BBC, 1972-73; 1975)[8]
- Z Cars (BBC, 1962-78)[8]
- Softly Softly (BBC, 1966-70)[8]
- Softly, Softly: Task Force (BBC, 1970-76)[8]
- Barlow at Large (BBC, 1971; 1973)[8]
- Gazette (ITV, 1968)[8]
- Hadleigh (ITV, 1969-76)[8]
References
- ↑ "Robert Barr". The Herald. 6 February 1999. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ↑ Purser, Philip (6 February 1999). "Robert Barr obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- 1 2 3 "Obituary: Robert Barr". The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Obituaries - Robert Barr". The Daily Telegraph. 4 February 1999. p. 27. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Contrasts Between War and Peace". Nottingham Evening News. 23 December 1959. p. 5. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ↑ "Drama on two fronts". The Guardian. 6 February 1999. p. 21. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Why writer bade Reading farewell". Reading Evening Post. 12 September 1979. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "BFI Screenonline: Barr, Robert (1909-1999) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- ↑ "Man who lived with danger..." Reading Evening Post. 30 September 1980. p. 2. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
External links
- Robert Barr at IMDb